The Dragon Awards are an annual event where fans vote for their favorites in a host of categories mostly focused on novels but also including tabletop games, cover art, tv shows, and movies. There is no fee to vote, but you must prove you are not a badly programmed bot by using a real email address and clicking on the confirmation link.

My novel, THE DABARE SNAKE LAUNCHER, is eligible in the science fiction category this year. It would mean a lot to me if you took a few minutes to put in a nomination for it. You can absolutely leave blanks on your ballot. But I do have suggestions for you to consider for the other nomination categories...

Best Fantasy Novel: THE SWORDMAKER by Katie Cross
Best Alternate History Novel: THE CROSSING by Kevin Ikenberry
Best Horror Novel: BLUE SAINT by Declan Finn
Best Illustrative Cover: TITAN MAGE APOCALYPSE Cover by artist Jackson Tjota 
Best Tabletop Game: CAT MAGIC THE GAME by David Sherrer

Thanks always!
Joelle Presby

P.S. Nominate here: https://application.dragoncon.net/dc_fan_awards_nominations.php

​In The Dabare Snake Launcher, I got to introduce very real and complicated characters who honor the people I’ve known with the grit and drive to fight to live well despite hostile environments. But first, let me tell you about the science: a hardbound 2013 collection of articles from the International Academy of Aeronautics got me started. I skipped to the section in the back of the book with all the reasons why a space elevator is impossible.
 
They weren’t wrong.
 
But if you give me science fiction’s traditional single cheat, in this case, a tether of carbon nano fiber in truly industrial lengths, all the other problems were solvable with money, power, and hard work. People would need to sacrifice and sweat blood. We'd need deals. We'd need peace.
 
We would need not just one hero, but a host of them.
 
I drew on my background in corporate consulting, my military engineering expertise, and my childhood in Cameroon, West Africa to build the novel’s ensemble cast. They all, especially the villains, consider themselves the true hero of the tale.
 
One of the first characters you’ll meet is Fabrice Tchami. He’s a longtime corporate vice president in charge of human resources at the very wealthy, very powerful multi-national TCG. He’s shifted to western styles of address ages ago and has not only flipped his name order to have his family name last, he introduces himself as “Chummy” using the common mispronunciation of his family name. But Chummy never forgot his roots, and before the end of the first chapter, he’s used his position to give the Sadous (his extended family back home in West Africa) a sweet no-bid contract deal. It shouldn’t have mattered that much, but Chummy isn’t magic. He may have a reputation for always picking the most perfect people for the job, but this time he might’ve made a big mistake.
 
Ethan Schmidt-Li, the corporate asshole running the elevator construction project isn’t hiring more companies to get space debris cleared out of the way of the future tether line. So the family in West Africa with that no-bid contract needs to deliver.
 
But they’ve got troubles of their own.
 
The Sadou family is from a mix of tribal linages and has a lot of new money problems. They’ve got two superstars in the youngest generation: the superior manager Sadou Maurie and the engineering genius Sadou-Tchami Pascaline. Maurie and Pascaline have been the family’s fixers since their teens and have only gotten better. But the family treats Pascaline as a black sheep and she keeps trying to break free to make her own way, and Maurie, well…
 
Maurie's going to show you a few things about what it can be like to live in West Africa. High fever illnesses are dangerously common in places without a strong winter. You can see some interesting things in fever dreams. Locally, living with long-term and debilitating but not contagious disease is something of an art form. When not everything is understood, a back brain can lean on myth to fill in the missing gaps. Or, quite possibly, maybe in chapter one that really was the sometimes benevolent and more often terrible water snake queen Mami-Wata involving herself in the affairs of the descendants.
 
Whatever is real or not real for Maurie, everyone else needs her to hold it together, and they need Pascaline to forgive the family who rejected her or this dabare of a spaceport will be the wrong sort of dabare.
 
The word dabare from Fulani in current and historic usage varies significantly depending on which part of the Fulani diaspora is providing the definition and how recently the recording entity has conquered or been conquered by that powerful tribe. Within The Dabare Snake Launcher, you will find it redefined before each section. The first definition shown is this one:
 
dabare
\ da-ba-RAY \
an engineering construction made with repurposed parts and extreme technical know-how, which either works flawlessly or not at all
origin: West African Fulani
Definition from The Cassini-Sadou Dictionary, 3rd ed.
 
Dabare can be dangerous. The Sadous, TCG, and Earth all must pray that whether it’s magic, engineering, or both, The Dabare Snake Launcher is the successful kind of dabare.
 
With full appreciation for the irony that many readers are going to us dabare to tease me in their reviews about whether I’ve presented them with good or bad dabare of a novel, I respectfully submit a few quotes which might entice you to read at least that first chapter:
 
“You guys should all be on the lookout for Joelle Presby’s solo Baen novel THE DABARE SNAKE LAUNCHER. It is… remarkable. Just truly, truly remarkable." —David Weber
 
“Joelle Presby has a knack for engaging characters and plots that skillfully walk the line between science and storytelling.” —Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki

“The Dabare Snake Launcher takes you on a journey of possibilities, an Africa foremost in groundbreaking technology and not focused on deprivation and poverty. Joelle’s writing is nuanced . . . There’s family drama . . . romance . . . and laugh-out-loud humour. Writing is vivid and the characters fascinating.”—Hannah Onoguwe

Thank you,
Joelle Presby


P.S. A significant crew of supporters helped turn my beginning manuscript into a novel you can hold in your hands. As always, any errors in this novel are my responsibility. Hannah Onoguwe, who generously provided one of the very first reviews, had her name spelled wrong on the print copy. Mea culpa. Her name is Hannah Onoguwe. You can find her work in the Time Worn Literary Journal among other places.

One of my favorite conventions has moved several hours closer to me this year. I'm delighted to be coming back as a guest and look forward to reconnecting with many friendly con goers.

Raven is a great con for parties, so Saturday night with the gracious support of the Baen Barflies, I'm hosting a launch party for THE ROAD TO HELL. There will be cake. There will be booze. There will be non-alcoholic beverages, free book-related stuff, and a raffle for some signed hardcovers. It'll be a good time.

RavenCon 2016
April 29 - May 1
DoubleTree by Hilton Williamsburg
50 Kingsmill Road
Williamsburg, VA 23185

I'll post more when I have my final schedule.

In case you missed it... David Weber and I have been having a lot of fun talking with podcast hosts about our newest book The Road To Hell (Multiverse 3). Here are links to the shows all in one place. Enjoy!

Baen Free Radio Hour

The Baen Free Radio Hour offers a weekly dose of Baen news, contests, suggestions for developing writers and readers, and, above all, lively discussion with a galaxy of authors, artists, and scientists all around the Baen Books universe. Plus: great audio adaptations of Baen author works, and professional readings of the science fiction and fantasy you love.

Name: BFRH 2016 03 11: David Weber and Joelle Presby on The Road to Hell, Part 1 of 2; and John Ringo's Under a Graveyard Sky Part 40

Description: David Weber and Joelle Presby discuss their new entry in the Multiverse series, The Road to Hell. This novel is set in a world where magic meets steampunk science across several universe-spanning portals, part 1 of 2; also part 40 of the complete audiobook serialization of John Ringo's Under a Graveyard Sky. http://www.baen.com/podcastfiles/mp3/Baen-Free-Radio-Hour-2016-03-11-Weber-Presby-Graveyard-40.mp3

Name: BFRH 2016 03 18: David Weber and Joelle Presby on The Road to Hell, Part 2 of 2; and John Ringo's Under a Graveyard Sky Part 41

Description: David Weber and Joelle Presby discuss their new entry in the Multiverse series, The Road to Hell. This novel is set in a world where magic meets steampunk science across several universe-spanning portals, part 2 of 2; also part 41 of the complete audiobook serialization of John Ringo's Under a Graveyard Sky. http://www.baen.com/podcastfiles/mp3/Baen-Free-Radio-Hour-2016-03-18-Weber-Presby-2-Graveyard-41.mp3

The Three Hoarsemen (Episode 31) - Down on the Collaboration Farm with Joelle Presby and David Weber - Part One

John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson convene with Joelle Presby and David Weber to talk about the collaboration process on their new book The Road to Hell. The talk was substantive enough to necessitate splitting it across two episodes.Part one of the discussion includes the challenges of stepping into an existing franchise, playing in another author’s sandbox, the difference between art vs. craft, editorial hindsight, working with Jim Baen, and meeting Andre Norton.

Run time: 1 hour 23 minutes. http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2016/02/three-hoarsemen-episode-31-collaboration-farm-joelle-presby-david-weber-part-one/

The Three Hoarsemen (Episode 32) - An Interview with Joelle Presby and David Weber - Part Two

In Part Two, John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson continue their talk with Joelle Presby and David Weber about The Road to Hell.The discussion covers killing characters, the cost of war, and wrapping up franchises.
The Hoarsemen also talk about culture consumed, the state of Marvel, revisiting Watership Down, and their reading plans for the rest of 2016.

Running time 1 hour 25 minutes. http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2016/03/three-hoarsemen-episode-32-joelle-presby-david-weber-part-two/

Less than a week to go until MantiCon! Please stop by if you are anywhere near Minneapolis this weekend. Here's my schedule:

FRIDAY, May 22
Opening Ceremonies - 4pm
Military Rivalry (panel) - 11pm

SATURDAY, May 23
Strange Lands (panel) - 10am
Navies of Earth (panel) - 11am
Baen Roadshow (presentation) - 2:30pm
Women in Science Fiction (panel) - 3pm
Star Maps & Alternate Earths (presentation) - 5pm

SUNDAY, May 24
Quitting for Fun & Profit (panel) - 11am
Closing Ceremonies - 4pm

MantiCon's website for more details: http://manticon.org/

April 1 - April Fool's Day - Check.

Noted a conspicuous absence of alien invasion themed foolery. I have filed my objections with NASA. They have blocked me on Twitter. (Not really. @NASA ignored me.)

April 1 - Camp NaNoWriMo Start Day - Check.

There has been writing and more writing with the occasional side of editing. It should be observed that editing during NaNoWriMo events is simply not the done thing. Quite frowned upon really. Apparently, I'm something of a rebel. Sorry. (Not sorry. Not changing.)

April 4 - Internet Explodes - What?

The 2015 Hugo nominees were announced. The list was, ah, not as expected.

I didn't vote this year. Only people who buy a WorldCon supporting (or higher level) membership can vote, and I saved my pennies. I've gotten a 2016 WorldCon members and plan to attend my very first WorldCon there in Kansas City. Membership are still for sale, so anyone who wants to vote in the final round still can. I intend to remain a nonvoter. I'd rather afford my flight to get to a WorldCon. But you should please vote or not vote however makes your heart happy.

I definitely did not see this one coming. Congratulations to all the nominees.

April 5 - Easter - Check.

Glorious churching was had by me. The pronouncement of the victory over death always chokes me up.

Also, there was food. Lots of food.

April 6 - Half-price Chocolate Bunny Day - Fail.

I didn't go grocery shopping. I know, I know! I even told other people about it on social media, but I didn't leave the house. There was this story I was writing. Baen sent me the contract for Worlds of Honor 7, and I've be working on a Grayson short story for it. I got distracted.

Besides, I didn't actually need any groceries, which is totally the fault of Soylent. So yeah, don't start Soylent. You'll get out of the habit of grocery shopping and miss Half-price Chocolate Day.

Please continue to enjoy your regularly scheduled April.

Last weekend (and part of the week prior) Charlottesville hosted the Virginia Festival of the Book. Some friends invited me, so I squelched my natural inclination to decline and  went. (My preferred level of social interaction is "lives under a rock but the rock has good wifi.")

I had an amazingly good time. (Note: I quite often have fun when I venture out into the the strange and wonderful world where contact with greater humanity is possible. But when good times happen, I still find it surprising. Thank you humans!)

At the Virginia Festival of the Book, Les Johnson, Toni Weisskopf, and Chris Oakley held an excellent panel on Putting the Science in Science Fiction. (There they are, left to right in the photo.) Les Johnson cowrote Back to the Moon among other things and works for NASA. Toni Weisskopf is my publisher at Baen Books. Chris Oakley, one of the friends who encouraged me to come visit for the weekend, moderated the panel and owns Oakley's Gently Used Books.

After the programming Friday evening, I got to talk with Toni. (Drum roll please...)

There will be a Worlds of Honor 7 anthology, and it will include another story by me!

I will now curl up around my laptop and hide from humanity while my introversion shields are overhauled. MantiCon is only 58 days away, and shields must be at con strength by then. Also, I have an Honorverse story to write. My rock and I are very, very pleased.